La Times: Admit it, The Force Awakens stinks

I have a feeling that in the years to come, there will be a group of people (myself included) who seek out the original Lucas sequel treatments as the original fans fevered for the pre-special edition OT films!

 

Reads kinda like a fan novel synopsis or opening crawl:

"A small band of fearless rebels endeavor to raid the Lucasfilm archives in an attempt to locate the plans for the hidden Lucas treament..."

[edit: typo]

 

I don't understand newspapers anymore, the biggest movie of 2015 is rated as a stinker is clear they don't know a impressive movie when they see one.

 

.............and after close reading they found out it sucked and contained many memorable lines and characters for all the wrong reasons.

 

From the current sources we know, there are no Lucas sequel treatments. He had a couple character ideas which got denied (he suggested the new character to be in their early teens) and thats all. But no story.

 

A guy called Something Pollock I think said he saw the treatments for the st in the 80's and said they were the most exciting films...

 

Lucas had a treatment/outline for the ST that was included with the sale to Disney. http://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2015...-tfa-treatment-a-different-point-of-view.html

It just so happened to have been thrown out. But not everything. Yes, he had character ideas and one of them revolved around a young girl.

I have read this also. I am one, also, that would like to see that treatment and the most recent one for the ST released.

 

2008, Interview with Lucas:

"TotalFilm: Are you happy for new Star Wars tales to be told after your gone?

Lucas: I've left pretty explicit instructions for there not to be any more features. There will definitely be no Episodes VII - IX. That's because there isn't any story. I mean, I never thought of anything! And now there are novels about the events after Episode IV, which isn't at all what I would have done with it.
The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story. Once Vader dies, he doesn't come back to life, The Emperor doesn't get cloned and Luke doesn't get married..."

This imo is pretty explicit about Lucas and the ST. Sure, when the aquisition happened he had a couple new ideas, but mostly regarding the charaters. I've yet to see any source about a story.

 

He has contradicted himself on this a lot though. I have a feeling that his "there is no story for the ST" is more about just not wanting to talk about it. There was probably always some form of a treatment - like I say, Dale Pollock who wrote “Skywalking: The Life And Films of George Lucas”, said that he read these treatments and they were the most exciting set of films. I have no reason to doubt that. I think Lucas, understandably, didn't want to be dragged down that road and in his mind, when he finished the PT that was it. He decided that would be the end of that particular story. But then, he changed his mind and revisited his old treatments and perhaps added to it/modified it. Either way, whether they be from the 80's or just before he sold to Disney, I'd love to read his story as coming from the maker, I'd personally view that as the real deal.

 

I haven't read Pollock's book, but apparently it was published in 1983, which leads to the question which sequel trilogy was mentioned there. Because before the release of RotJ there were indeed plans for a sequel trilogy (originally the emperor would've first appeared in that planned ST), but that got nullified with the release of RotJ.

The Star Wars fatigue already hit Lucas before RotJ (around his divorce), so its pretty questionable if he indeed had any plans for the ST after RotJ. I think he was rather concentrating on the PT. After the PT I really doubt he turned back to ST plans. From 2005 to 2008 he was busy with Indiana Jones related stuff. From 2008 to 2012 he was busy with TV stuff and his side projects Red Tails and Strange Magic (both of which were huge faliures). So imo the current state is what he said in 2008 (that there are ST ideas or plans). Im pretty sure he had a couple ideas when the Disney aquisition happened, but nothing really indicates that he ever had a planned story. Maybe some story fragments. He was never a guy who planned his movies in advance. The script of TPM was still beeing written when the crew was already building sets... The factory scene in AotC was not even scripted. RotS was changed multiple times on set. I'd also like to read his treatments regarding the ST, but the current evience indicates that there is no Lucas ST.

This is probably the closest thing we'll get from the Lucas ST.

 

Ah, I remember this clickbait thread based on a clickbait article, from last year. Good times.

 

I noticed that in the STAR WARS fandom, a lot of people try to declare their opinions of each movie as a fact. I've been noticing this since the Prequels were first released.

 

I dont think Lucas had any story written out as a treatment, he just had ideas that he wanted done, then they shot him down, remade ANH and called it The Force Awakens and he was angry about it.

 

Maybe we can accept that TFA wasn't necessarily a movie for die hard SW fans but one designed to build a new generation of fans while trying to give older fans something enjoy and embrace which is why it was so similar to ANH...

 

It's a soft reboot to reignite the interest of young peoples. It happens. TFA is far from perfect or great but it was really the kind of movie that Disney/Lucasfilm needed to really get people back on board.

This is why I am wildly excited for the stand alone films. They can start reaching into genres Star Wars hasn't really touched. Rogue One is a legitimate war movie by all accounts. I would love a Scorsese inspired mob movie based around the Hutts.

Imagine if they did horror/thrillers based on the monsters and creatures of the Star Wars canon:
A small band of soldiers set off to Hoth to find stuff left behind in the Rebellion's fast escape...trapped in an isolated building they are surrounded by wampas and are slowly picked off in a story of survival and fear. Get all John Carpenter in this world.

 

I hope they focus on the over all saga then simply just the fan favorites from the original trilogy going forward.

 

Yeah by taking elements from star wars underworld.

 

You guys are focused on genre aspect of Star Wars. That is the surface of a film...

A movie about Hutts gangster movie sounds great - on the surface.
A movie about Palpatine being trained as a young Sith sounds great - on surface.
A movie that is Episode 7 directed by JJ Abrams and written by Kasden sounds great - on surface...

But there are much more techniques into making an actual good film. The first and foremost is a good script - which if you guys take film classes know its the most difficult craft to master in the world.

Its not so much the 'tag line' of the film, or who is directing, or who is the main actor that signs on - BUT What are the character arcs of these films ? Are there plot holes that will give up the illusion of the story ? Do the characters have inner struggles that the audience can relate to?

In terms of looking at TFA as a film - it was an amazing idea, a great attempt made a ton of money - but at the end of the day, it simply was not even close to the Original Trilogy films.